(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)New England Patriots rookie linebacker Dont'a Hightower (45) works against another defensive player during practice on the first day of the NFL football team's training camp in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, July 26, 2012.

There were moments in the New England Patriots' preseason
opener against the New Orleans Saints when he played like, well ... a rookie. The
linebacker got caught leaning on a few runs, bit too hard against a handful of
play action passes, and often dropped too far back in coverage, allowing his
assignment to make easy catches underneath.

For a player who wants to make an instant impact
in New England, he knows that he's going to have to forcibly erase the
phrase "rookie mistakes" from the lexicon used to describe him. And the only
way to do that is to play like a veteran.

His quest will begin when the Pats host the Philadelphia
Eagles for their second preseason game Monday night.

"I'm going with the same mindset that I always have, which
is to go in and be dominate and be accountable to my teammates and do what I
have to do to get off the field and whatever I have to do to get the victory,"
Hightower said.

Even if that mindset didn't produce the desired result against
the Saints, it has led to rave reviews during training camp, where he's often
around the ball, making plays, and wreaking general havoc on the opposing offense.
His coaches and teammates feel it's only a matter of time before those traits
stop existing only in practice lore and begin showing up on game film.

Middle linebacker Brandon Spikes feels so strongly about the
first-round pick that he believes that, along with Jeord Mayo and Hightower,
the New England linebackers can come together to form one of the more imposing
trios in the league once things slow down for Hightower.

"I think we are doing a great job, lot of young guys coming
in and making plays," Spikes said. "They're high-energy guys, flying around,
and that's great. They're catching up to the defense and it's good. We can just
build from there."

It may take some time before the blocks on which the
Patriots are building begin to resemble the temple of doom the linebackers are
hoping to construct, but Hightower's cerebral approach to the game and study
habits suggest that it should come together sooner rather than later.

There were moments where he allowed the instincts that made him one of the best linebackers while at Alabama to take over and you could see his potential
Thursday night. He also received a large vote of confidence from Belichick
after Dane Fletcher, who was filling in for the injured Spikes, suffered a torn
anterior cruciate ligament in the first quarter and he was moved from his spot
on the string side to the middle.

The shift spoke volumes about Hightower's ability to grasp
the Patriots' complex schemes and the work he's put in behind the scenes to
learn all three linebacker spots.

Moving forward, that can only help him achieve success.

"It's all about learning; you can never learn enough right
now," Hightower said. "I'm still in the back of the classroom still trying to
learn. ... It's football and I'm a student of the game. It's something I'm very
passionate about so each day I wake up and I'm blessed."

And the New England region may soon be feeling blessed when
Hightower starts performing the show he's been putting on behind the scenes on
Sundays.